Toast
by ImAPwopahFish
Summary: Magnus Martinsson/OC FanFiction :
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

The computer was _really_ pissing me off. I was trying to run a profile on this new suspect that had emerged and it just utterly refused to download the information: the pages were freezing, the files refused to download and the internet connection wasn't working. Frantically clicking the mouse wasn't helping either. I screamed in frustration and slammed my head down on the desk.

Magnus looked over at me as if I had just landed from Mars.

"Computer problems?" He grinned as I looked up.

"Arghh... I have no patience with these things." I swivelled round on my chair to look at him.

I noticed his eyes sparkle slightly as he prepared a humorous remark. I could tell he was deciding on the tone with which he would say it.

He was six foot, at least, tall and gangly with beautiful blue eyes, a mop of blond curls and a smile that could melt any woman's heart. I might have asked him out or something... or at least requested his number, but he seemed too engrossed in work to go to dinner with colleagues. And plus, my friend 'liked' him anyway, so he was off-limits.

"You have no patience at all anyway, E." Magnus' voice brought me back from my brief pondering. He smiled at his own joke and flicked mindlessly through a file, his long fingers sweeping deftly over the paper.

"That was absolutely pathetic. Seriously.. I expected better of you." Grinning a shit-eating grin, I was hoping for a light-heard argument to ensue. Instead, his forehead crumpled into a frown and he looked past me towards Wallander's office. I turned to look and saw that Kurt was beckoning Magnus over. He sighed, stood up and smiled at me, before beginning to meander his way through the many desks in the office.

Lisa turned to look at me, puzzled. I shrugged and turned back to my computer... which was _still_ frozen.

Magnus returned from running his errand for Kurt and, waiting for him on his desk, stood a lone cup of coffee which slowly emitted puffs of steam as it cooled. A small puddle had formed on the desk where Anne had been too enthusiastic and spilled some. He gave me a knowing look and wiped away the pool of coffee.

Magnus had been the object of Anne's desire for the past _three years_ and every day, without fail, she would bring him a cup of coffee and place it proudly on his desk, like a small puppy bringing its owner a stick.

Being the polite, sensible man he was, Magnus accepted the constant refills of coffee with an irresistible smile, thanking her graciously and, sometimes, kissing her on the cheek or giving her a somewhat half-hearted hug.

The whole Anne/Magnus thing was a running joke among the group. Even Kurt had once remarked that the whole thing seemed a tad ridiculous. To be specific, he said that _she _was being ridiculous. There wasn't a rule against dating in the office, so Magnus was free to accept her advances: he never did. In my opinion, she should have gotten the message by now.

Anne was watching from her own desk, shielding herself with the plant that always sat on her desk (apparently, she'd named it 'Sebastian'). Magnus, sensing that she was watching, gulped down the coffee quickly and swallowed as fast as possible. I could tell from the expression on his face that it had gone cold.

"Your computer working yet?" I looked up and realised that Magnus had directed the question at me. The empty coffee cup had, already, 'mysteriously' disappeared. Anne had probably swooped in and taken it away.

"Hmm... sort of," I replied. "Just about managed to get his personal info..." Pausing briefly, I opened up the files. "Uhh... just waiting on family profiles. Did you want to see them?" Magnus wheeled himself over to my desk on his swivel chair and leaned over my shoulder.

"Ooh yeah.. let's see what dirt we've got on him." I laughed and squinted, reading through the many paragraphs and picking out info.

"Warren Shimmin, aged 30. Lives with his parents..."

"What? Oh god.." Magnus chuckled. He was breathing. Right. In. My. Ear. I managed to keep myself calm, not wanting to start hyperventilating or something.

"Oh no.. that's his brother." Magnus looked disappointedly at me. I grinned. "One car... fully taxed and insured, everything's in order. No criminal record either."

"Hmm..." Magnus said thoughtfully. "Surprising, don't you think? Aah.. we'll find something on him, I'm sure." He leaned further over my shoulder, putting his hand on the arm-rest of my chair to keep himself balanced.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed Anne scowling at me, so I shifted in my seat, further away from him. He noticed and looked slightly hurt, a frown forming on his face, wondering what he had done wrong.

"Uhh.. credit history.. not so good. But then whose is?" I laughed nervously. "Ermm.. well, he's got no family to speak of, apa- ..."

Anne cut in, deliberately pushing in between Magnus and me, separating us both.

"Whatcha up to?" I rolled my eyes. Her voice went into a sickening baby talk whenever she spoke to him. Anyone would think they were married or something. I supposed in her head, she imagined she was.

On one hand, I guess I would have liked to date Magnus, but on the other hand, I felt slightly bad about poor Anne who had adored him for so long. But then again, if he liked her, wouldn't he have asked her to dinner or something? He _knew_ she liked him, a lot, so he couldn't make that excuse.

I sighed and clicked the close button on the files. Magnus smiled at me and went back over to his desk, Anne following closely behind.

"I'll e-mail them..." I mouthed at him. He nodded and turned to Anne, ready to engage in a random and petty conversation. I smiled sadly and turned back to my computer.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

After work I decided on trotting off to the café down the road, to drown my sorrows... with coffee. The door opened with a small ting of the bell and the waitress at the counter smiled at me.

"Can I help you?" She chewed on her gum noisily, slightly putting me off thinking of an answer to her question.

"Uhmm..." I stared at the menu board, trying to decide on something. "I'll just have a cappucino, thanks." I smiled and got out some change from my pocket.

"Okayyyy," She drawled out the end of the word, typing the amount into the till. "Regular, or large?" I looked up.

"Uh... just a regular, thanks." I held the change in my hand ready, waiting for her to finish prattling.

"Right-y oh. So, that'll be..." She stopped and frowned. "Oh yeah, eating in or out?"

"In, thanks." Did it matter really? I looked up at the menu. Apparently, it did. Eating in was an extra 60p. Okay, so you had to pay extra to use their precious china cups, did you? I scolded myself for being so sarcastic and looked expectantly at the waitress. She tapped more things in and finally looked back at me.

I handed her the change and collected my (rather small) cup of cappucino. 'Should've gone for the large,' I thought to myself.

Sitting down in a corner booth at the back of the café, I opened my notebook at an empty page. I picked up a pencil and pondered on what to draw, pencil poised at the paper.

I took a sip of the cappucino instead and looked around me to see if there was anything interesting: a group of, rather large, men sat around a table, guffawing and drinking coffee enthusiastically. They looked out of place. You didn't expect them to be sat at a small café at 10 o'clock at night; they should be in a pub, drinking beer or something.

I supposed I was stereotyping, but they were the perfect thing for my pointless scribblings. Grinning, I made a few faint lines on the paper, preparing to draw a (very) exaggerated charicature of them all.

Finishing my drawing, I admired it proudly. I'd managed to switch the coffee cups to pints, and the booth to bar stools. I was especially proud of the main bloke. He was the loudest one, who had chucked a pack of cards on the floor, calling it a '52 card pick-up' and I felt that I had depicted him quite accurately.

I had the feeling that someone was looking at me and lifted my head. A man, quite good-looking, was watching me from the other side of the café. He was tall and pale with dark black hair that flopped over his face. My meeting his gaze made him a bit nervous and he shifted in his seat, showing off a faint hint of a toned bicep. I was screaming in my head that a man, with some hint of attractiveness (and muscles!), was looking at me. I smiled at him, hoping for a reaction.

To my surprise, he stood up and walked in my direction. I wasn't expecting this!

"Hi." He said. His voice was deep and... well, a bit sexy, actually.

"Hi..." I replied. "Uhh.. d'you want to sit down?" I cursed my nervousness. I could never actually speak a whole sentence without saying 'uhh' or 'erm'. It was ridiculous, and it also meant that I could never flirt properly without sounding like a child.

"Sure," he answered and sat down opposite me. "I noticed you drawing... looks good." He leaned over the table to see my sketch and laughed. I assumed he was laughing because the cartoon was funny, not because it was appallingly bad.

I realised I was staring and staying silent, which would probably look creepy so opened my mouth to speak - he cut me off.

"Do you want a drink? Something stronger than a coffee maybe?"

"You mean an espresso?" Kicking myself for being such an idiot, I gritted my teeth and started again. Thankfully, he found it amusing and laughed. "Sorry.. I was being an idiot."

"No... no, it's... it's fine." He grinned at me, showing his teeth. Running his hand through his hair, he leaned further across the table and looked straight into my eyes. "Well, uhh.. this may sound forward, but I have some wine at my place..."

I looked at him. He was being serious. An attractive, single (I assumed), toned, man that was my age was actually asking me to go to his apartment for 'a drink'. I knew _exactly_ what he would want to happen, and I'm not sure I wanted to stop it...

My mind flickered to Magnus briefly, but I knocked him out of my mind.

"Well... slightly forward, yes... but I... I don't see why not." I smiled, trying to look alluring, and probably failing.

"Okay then." He got up and, very gentleman-like, he helped me out of the booth. "Oh, yeah. I'm Peter." He smiled beautifully again and I wondered why on earth he wanted to ask _me_ back to his flat. But I didn't care... I really, actually, didn't for once. I mean, why not? _Why the hell not?_


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up the next morning and didn't know where the hell I was. For a moment, I was worried. A massive, white, marshmallow-like duvet was blocking my view completely and suffocating me in the process. Becoming even more uneasy and feeling an asthma attack coming on, I started frantically searching for my phone, or preferrably a way out of the bloody thing._.._ I flailed my arms, trying to sit up and, in the process, inadvertantly whacked someone in the bed next to me.

"Hey, hey... hey!" He yelled. Well, at least it was a man. I couldn't have gotten _that_ drunk then.

Managing to sit up, I looked across at the bloke who I was, apparently, in bed with. Then I remembered. Peter.

"Sorry... I uhh.. forgot where I was for a minute." For the second time since I'd met him, I kicked myself for being such a complete arsehole. It must have looked so very attractive, me flailing my arms and trying ridiculously to balance myself.

"S'okay. How drunk did I get you?" he chuckled to himself and rolled over towards me. He noticed the surprised look on my face. "Not a bad thing, is it?"

"No," I laughed and snuggled down in the covers before looking at him. "Not a bad thing.. not at all."

Peter smiled and leaned in. Our lips met and he ran his hand up my side to find my cheek, his hands framing my face. The kiss was passionate, but gentle. His tongue traced the line of my lips and I opened my mouth, letting his tongue slide in. He grinned through the kiss and shifted his weight on top of me, hands roaming.

I couldn't stop myself from letting out a quiet moan and he responded by deepening the kiss. I ran my hands through his soft, black hair and let them roam down his toned back. He smiled again, letting his hands feel their way lower... and lower...

I couldn't help myself from grinning as I sauntered into the office, carrying a new found confidence. It was weird having a boyfriend... it was weird calling Peter a boyfriend. In all honesty, I thought it'd gone too fast, but you only live once, right? In short what had happened was, he'd come into the café, asked me to his apartment, we had a few drinks, had a bit of 'fun' and woken up the next morning.

It was probably how most relationships or whatever started. People got a bit drunk and kind of... fell into it. Not really planned, I supposed. My life never was planned, anyway. I couldn't even keep a goldfish alive, I didn't know how the hell I was going to keep a boyfriend on the go.

Anne gave me a watery smile.

"You look chirpy today," she remarked. I nodded and dropped my bag next to my chair. She hopped from one foot to the other looking as if she wanted to tell me something, but couldn't.

"What do you want to tell me, Anne?" I sighed, waiting for some pathetic remark about how Magnus had smiled at her or something. Actually, it was quite remarkable how many times I used the word 'pathetic' when talking about Anne. It fitted, though.

"Well..." she started. Biting her lip and blushing a bit. "Magnus asked me out on a date!" she squealed excitedly. "Tonight! I mean, wow... You're gonna have to help me choose what to wear!"

I looked at her. Stared. Watched. Waited for her to say 'only joking, you seriously think Magnus would ask me, a soppy, wet, silly excuse of a woman to dinner?'. I guess I was being too cruel, because she said nothing of the sort. She waved her hand in front of my face.

"You think I'm joking, don't you." She said defiantly, pouting her lip like a spoilt child. "You think that I'm lying.. that I imagined it all." She scowled.

"No, not at all." I lied. It came easily to me, especially when it came to Anne. "Well... that's.. that's great, Anne." Yeah, all the years you've bloody well put coffee on his desk and followed him around like some stupid puppy dog and it's finally paid off. Yes, congratulations on being so... so..? I couldn't find the words.

"I'm afraid I can't help you choose clothes for tonight, I'm er... busy." I wasn't _entirely_ lying about being busy. Peter said he would call later to arrange a date or something, so I supposed it was quite near to the truth.

Anne obviously didn't think so because she stared at me, glaring.

"You mean, you don't want to help me, because you're jealous... or because you don't like me?" Did this girl overreact about everything? I couldn't take much more of this. "Come on, Em. Which one is it?"

"Neither. I've got a _date_, if you must know. You're not the only one. The difference is, it hasn't taken me three years to bloody get the damn thing, unlike some people." My tone was angry. She looked taken aback and a bit hurt.

"Well... there's no need to talk like that," she said sulkily. "And what do you mean about me taking three years?" Anne stuck her lip out again, placing her hands firmly on her hips...

I knew that I was going to blurt out the truth that everyone thought she was pathetic. I knew it was going to happen, and I knew that I probably wouldn't be able to stop myself from saying it. The best that I could do was 'dull the blow' a bit.

"Well... you have taken three years, haven't you? You've liked him for three years. You've put a bloody coffee cup on his desk every day for the past three years. Everyone knows that you like him, that's why nobody else has asked him out. That's why _I_ haven't asked him out." Everyone was staring in horror now as I was about to drop them all in it too. "For God's sake, Anne, I felt sympathy for you. I was sorry that you couldn't bloody well get the courage to ask him out, but it gets annoying.. a lot annoying... really... really... just... _annoying._" I'd run out of steam. I'd blurted everything out and, to top it off, Magnus had just walked in on the whole thing.

Anne stood there, eyes filling with tears. Magnus was gobsmacked, standing with his mouth open and Lisa and Kurt daren't move.

"Oh fuck... I'm ... Anne, I'm so sorry.. I just... The truth is.. I..." I searched for a viable lie. "... I just broke up with my boyfriend. .. I'm.. just not in a good mood..." I managed to think one up. Hoping she would fall for it, I continued. "I'm ... I'm really sorry, Anne." I smiled weakly, trying to cheer her up.

Anne sniffed.

"You seemed chirpy just now, though..." She sniffed again.

"I'm a good actor, that's all." I smiled and pulled her, reluctantly, into a hug. She gripped tightly onto me and sniffed _yet again_. I felt her reach up and wipe the snot from her nose... eurghh...

Magnus was still standing gob-smacked, watching the whole thing. Kurt and Lisa had somehow managed to creep out and leave us to it.

I smiled reassuringly... Anne sniffed. 'God dammit girl, get a bloody tissue.' I thought. Instead, I whispered in her ear:

"And I'll help you pick that outfit out tonight, too." _That_ cheered her up. She grinned at me and skipped off into the hall, probably to fix another cup of coffee for poor Magnus. I swear she wanted to drown him or something... _Magnus Martinsson - Cause of Death: too much bloody coffee!_

Magnus put his hand on my arm and I flinched. I couldn't actually believe it. I flinched. Seriously? He held his hands up in a mock-surrender.

"So... what was all that about, then?" he asked.

"What, haven't you had two girls fighting you over before?" I joked. "You should be thankful that it didn't turn into a massive cat-fight or something."

Magnus was obviously in shock and didn't know quite what was a joke and what was real.

"Joke." I raised an eyebrow and sat down at my desk.

"Right..." He made a move for his own desk. "You're not mad that I asked her out, are you?" his forehead furrowed into a frown.

"What? No.. no. I.. yeah. Bad mood, that's all." Laughing nervously, I turned to my computer and switched the monitor on, signalling to Magnus that I didn't want to talk anymore.

He didn't quite get the message.

"Sorry about your boyfriend..." he persisted.

"Oh, yeah.. not your fault, is it?" I made an attempt at acting grumpy/sad. It did kind of fail, but he believed it. Magnus patted me on the shoulder (supposedly to reassure me) and turned his computer on.

I began to type in my log-in frustratedly when my mobile vibrated in my pocket. To my dismay, I saw that it was Peter.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

Having had to put off meeting Peter for the night because I'd agreed to help Anne pick out her outfit after work, I found myself mooching along beside her on the way to her flat while she pranced along the pavement like a bloody pixie. I was _not_ impressed.

We reached her flat quite swiftly (thank God) and she fumbled with the key, trying to get it in the lock. I couldn't believe it. Her hands were actually shaking. Then I realised, she hadn't been on a date in about three years...

Well, that was her own bloody fault, wasn't it.

I shivered in the wind while I waited for Anne to sort herself out. She (finally) got the key into it's slot and turned it.

It was warm inside and quite cosy. I followed Anne up to her flat, which was also... cosy and warm. At least it wasn't as cold as outside. Slipping my jacket off my arms, I copied Anne and hung it up on the pegs near the door. I almost felt like I was in primary school, putting coats on pegs and so on.

Anne led me into her bedroom.

"So.. what do you think I should wear?" She stared expectantly at me, waiting for a response. To be honest, I didn't want to give out my 'dating advice' or advise her on what to wear because... well, I'm a selfish git, aren't I?

"Uhh.. well, it's a first date, so you probably want to impress him.." I said. "So that he remembers you, so to speak."

"We've been working in the same office for three years. He's _known me_ for three years." She replied stubbornly. 'Yes, and look where that's got you.' I thought to myself. If she was going to reject all of my advice, I seriously was not going to bother.

"Alright, but you still want a second date, don't you?"

"Yes, of course!" Her voice sounded muffled. I looked around to see her groping around in her wardrobe, searching for something. She brought out an extremely short, bright red dress with a very low neck to show off cleavage (which she didn't have). Oh God, I'm so horrible...

"Yeah.. but I don't think you want to shock him by looking like a stripper." I laughed. Apparently, Anne didn't see the joke in it and stared back at me blankly. "Look, a dress would be good, but something that doesn't show off your knickers would be brilliant."

She fumbled around some more and found a black dress that fell just above the knee, a little bit cheeky, but not slutty.

"Perfect!" I remarked, not wanting to see the rest of her wardrobe and spend the whole night there.

"Okey-dokey." I hated when she talked like that.

Anne grinned at me and half-stumbled into the bathroom to change.

"So, err, what sort of things should I say to him?" Anne asked. "I mean, we already know each other pretty well, so what do I... say?"

I shrugged and made a very childish face at the door to the bathroom.

"Umm... just, talk about.. stuff. Like, answer his questions, talk about hobbies. Find out about each other. I'm sure there's something about you that he doesn't know." I replied. 'Even if you know every damn detail about him, anyway.' I continued in my head.

I hated myself for being so horrible to her, but I had had a very big crush on Magnus when I had first joined two years ago, and she'd forbidden me (yes, actually _forbidden_ me) from going out with him. I mean, who the hell did she think she was? Since then, I'd grown up a bit and could hold my own against her. She'd gone the opposite way. Rather than being the 'ringleader' of the girls in the office, she'd become a soppy, sappy, weak kind of girl that followed Magnus around everywhere. I mean, she'd liked him for a year before then, Lisa had told me, but then when I joined, she seemed to want to start impressing him even more and slowly she fell into becoming this... sap, really.

Anne brought me out of my trance by coming out of her bathroom wearing the dress. I grinned encouragingly.

"Brilliant." I said. "You look absolutely gorgeous. God, even I'd shag you!" I joked. Anne's face remained stoney. Does this woman even _have_ a sense of humour?

"I don't want to just shag him, Emily. This is going to be a meaningful, lasting relationship." she protested. She even called me by my full name which nobody ever did anymore. I was E, or Em. _Em the Computer Whizz._ That was me.

I was well, a computer whizz apparently. Average height, wavy light-brown hair, dark brown eyes... what else could I say? I was normal. Average. Ordinary. Regular. Standard, run-of-the-mill. I don't know how Peter had even picked me out in that café, I was just another brown haired girl that worked in an office.

"You heard me, _lasting relationship_." Anne had obviously mistaken my thinking face for a look of disbelief. She said 'lasting relationship' as if I didn't know what one was. Sure, I'd never been in a relationship that lasted more than a year, but who the hell did she think she was? And she hadn't _had_ a relationship, let alone a good shag, for three years, since the whole Magnus thing started. I seriously didn't know how she'd coped.

"Well, can I go then? I mean, I've helped with the outfit..." I jabbed my thumb in the direction of the door, signalling that I really did want to leave... like, now.

"Umm... well, could you help me with my hair.. and makeup maybe?" Her voice went all whiney and pleading but I felt guilty after my rant earlier in the day and agreed... however reluctant.

I finally got out of the apartment, and that was only because Magnus had turned up to pick her up. It had been awkward, squeezing past him in the hallway, but I hoped he didn't think badly of me.

Standing out in the cold, night air outside Anne's apartment, I watched as she and Magnus strolled down the path together. I was glad to see that they weren't holding hands. Ughh.. why was I so horrible about her?

Not being able to think of anything else to do, I fished my phone out of my pocket and flipped the top up. Oh goodie, a text from Peter!

SORRY YOU COULDN'T MAKE IT OUT TONIGHT.

HOPEFULLY SEE YOU SOON?

PETER X

I grinned as I read it and moved to text him back, but stopped. It was only 8, would he be free? I cancelled the text and pressed 'dial number'.

Peter picked up, his gruff voice sounding even sexier over the phone.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hi.. It's Emily." I smiled at the thought of him.

"Em, hi!" he replied. He sounded pleased to hear from me. "I guess you got my text..."

"Yeah, I did." I kicked the pavement, shuffling my feet in the leaves and, in the process, soaking my Converse. "Umm... I was helping my friend pick out some clothes for her date. But uhh.. she's gone now, so... I was wondering if you were free, maybe?"

"Is this the annoying one you told me about?" I heard him chuckling in the background.

"What?" When had I told him about Anne? "When did I tell you about that..?"

"Well.. you got a bit tipsy and started rambling about some woman.." I could tell he was laughing at me. "Yeah... you said she was pathetic and... something about coffee?"

I laughed, slightly relieved that I hadn't mentioned Magnus. "Oh right.. well, yes, it is the annoying one."

Peter chuckled again. "So, I'm entirely free for the whole evening... I was wondering what you think to a trip to the cinema?" I cheered in my head, nodding along as he spoke. I shook my foot, trying to rid my Converse of the water. "I know it's a bit more.. teenager-y... But, I thought it might be fun?" I was so busy shaking the water from my trainer that I forgot to answer him. "Mission Impossible is on.. if that helps to sway you? I mean, I'm not bothered by your drooling at Tom Cruise shirtless or anything..." He laughed nervously.

"Sorry.. sorry.. Uhh, yeah that sounds _really_ amazing." I was actually being honest, which I hadn't done much of that day. "I love acting like a teenager.. it's uhh.. more fun." I grinned to myself. "And, in reply to the Tom Cruise remark, I'd much rather see you shirtless." Flirting? Me? Wow... I didn't even recognise myself.

"Okay. Shall I meet you at the cinema then?" He was laughing again. At least the man had a good sense of humour.

"Yeah, great."

"And umm... I'll see if I can arrange that uhh.. other thing, later on.." Now _he_ was flirting. Whew...

All I could do was laugh into my phone.

"See you in a few..." To my own surprise, I blew a kiss into the phone and hung up. Gosh.. I was really surprising myself by the way I acted with Peter. Flirting, blowing kisses... golly... Well, I supposed it was a good thing. No... I _hoped_ it was a good thing.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

I woke up in my bed this time, and I knew that I had invited Peter in. And I definitely recalled a lot of what happened. I grinned to myself, secretly pleased that I actually had a sex-life for once.

I rolled over in bed and found that Peter wasn't there. Puzzled, I sat up and reached for my phone. Two texts. Goodie goodie gum drops.

The first was from Anne. I didn't want to open it for fear that it would contain a detailed account of what had happened on her date (and afterwards). And I had seen her reports, so I knew that she could write tiny details _very_ well.

Reluctantly, I opened up the message and began to read:

I 3 YOU EM!

IT ALL WENT RLLY WELL.

WILL TLK 2 U ABOUT IT AT WORK.

LUV, ANNE X

I mimed being sick. I really did not want to hear about how fantastic her date went. Well, at least there were no details. Maybe it meant that he hadn't shagged her... hmm... Weird. Magnus seemed like the kind of guy who would do that sort of thing, but I guess not. I hoped that I wouldn't have to sit for three hours listening to how amazing it all went and that he actually made eye contact or whatever...

I opened up the text from Peter:

EM. I HAD A WNDERFUL TIME LAST NITE.

SRRY I LEFT EARLY, HAD TO WORK.

I HAV 2 WORK 2NITE AS WELL, SO MAYB WE CAN GO OUT THE NITE AFTER?

PETER XX

TWO kisses? Yes! Things were obviously going well. I typed a quick reply, agreeing to meet up the next night he was free and flipped the lid of my phone down, shutting it off.

I half-fell, half-got out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom for a shower. Turning the temperature up, I stepped under the spray, letting the hot water run down my face and back, relishing the relaxed feeling.

After my brief shower, I got dressed and wandered into the kitchen, wearing my lucky socks.

At work, we were forced to wear skirts and blouses, but I always wore socks rather than tights on a morning before I set off. It was more comfortable. I'd always hated wearing skirts and dresses. Trousers and jeans were almost certainly better.

I pressed the switch on the kettle and whistled tunelessly. This was a good morning. I was in a good mood, despite the fact that I would have to listen to Anne's description of her and Magnus' date.

Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I settled down at the kitchen table and turned my phone back on. Peter had texted me back. I grinned, happily.

Anne was waiting for me outside the building, smirking. It annoyed me immensely and I felt the good mood slowly drain out of me as I drew closer to her.

"Oh my God... Em, I absolutely _love_ you!" She hugged me enthusiastically. Deciding that I wanted to keep this good vibe going, I hugged her back.

"So," I didn't want to ask the question. "How did it go?"

"Amaaaaaazing." She dragged out the vowel, presumably to add emphasis. This was going to be painful.

I wondered why I cared so much about Anne dating Magnus. I always told myself it was because I hated her so much, because she had been horrible to me when I had first joined and stuff. But maybe that wasn't the reason. Maybe the real reason was, I still liked him? Then again, maybe not... Besides, I had Peter now, and it was all going great.

"Oh good, good." I lied. "So uhh.. where did you go? On the date, I mean."

"He took me to this _really_ romantic restaurant. It was beautiful. There were candles and flowers and stuff..." And so it began. I started walking towards the office entrance, signalling that I kind of needed to get into work. She took the hint and walked with me, describing what had happened. I zoned out, nodding along to keep her happy, walking up the steps painfully slowly.

"Mhmm... great." I repeated. She waggled her hands about animatedly, miming everything that happened.

"... and then, he held my hand on the way home!" We stopped just outside the office and Anne peeked in. Magnus was standing, talking to Kurt.

"Well, I'm really happy for you. I now how much you like him." I smiled. "I promised Kurt that I'd get that information for him this morning, can we talk at lunch?"

Anne blushed. "I was kind of going to ask Magnus if we could have lunch together." She watched me, trying to gauge my reaction. "I mean, you've heard all of the details and I guess you won't want to hear all the rubbish." I looked at her.

"Yeah.. yeah, fine. Okay." I pushed open the office door and headed straight for my desk. I sat down and flicked the 'on' button on my computer. The screen lit up, showing the typical log-in screen.

I watched from my desk as Anne sauntered into the room, smiling confidently at Magnus as she walked past. He nodded at her and smiled back, looking slightly confused. Either he was confused at her sudden change in character, or she had drugged him and he didn't remember anything of the night before. Hmm... I _think_ it was probably the fact that she had changed character so rapidly... _Curse my sarcasm..._ I stopped my rambling.

Suddenly, I had a thought. Had I changed into the jealous, coffee-bringer that watched from behind a plant on her desk named Sebastian? Well, I hadn't ever given Magnus coffee, unless he had asked, and there was no sign of life on my desk whatsoever... and I _certainly_ hadn't ever named anything Sebastian in my life. I wasn't turning _completely_ into Anne, but I admitted that I was jealous.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

I hit 'send' on the list of Warren Shimmin's transactions. Sighing and putting my head in my hands, I leant my elbows in the sharp edges of the desk, causing a shooting pain to go down my arm. I ignored it.

Anne had been constantly flirting with Magnus all day and he looked like he didn't know what the hell he was supposed to make it. Initially, I thought that he was surprised by how different she was acting, but by the looks of bewilderment he was giving her, maybe she had gotten a wrong message.

I shook the thoughts from my mind. An e-mail came through from Kurt. They'd managed to get hold of Shimmin's mobile number, the one thing that had been missing off my profile of him. Just as I finished reading, and stood up to visit Kurt to get the information (I knew for a fact that he didn't know how to attach files), he appeared behind me.

I jumped about a foot in the air.

"Sorry, didn't mean to make you jump." His face was expressionless, as usual. "Can you trace his number?" He handed me the paper.

I nodded and tapped the info into the computer. Magnus had strolled in and now stood beside Kurt.

At first I hadn't recognised the number, but seeing the house address appear on the screen, I realised. A look of horror appeared on my face.

"No.. this number.. it can't be right." I screwed up my face. "No, really... it can't." I flipped open my phone and entered the first few digits into my contacts, waiting for the screen to tell me I was wrong. But sure enough, it was true. I couldn't quite fathom it. I was completely baffled. No... no... no...

"Well." Kurt didn't know why I was reacting the way I was. "Can you print it off? We need to bring him in." I heard the words, but didn't move.

"E? Are you okay?" Magnus asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Kurt, something's really wrong."

"Well we need to go and get him. He might be packing right now." I started hyperventilating.

"It's... it's _Peter_?" I said in disbelief. It was more of a question than a statement.

"Peter? Who's Peter?" Magnus asked. I had forgotten that I'd told Anne that I had broken up with my boyfriend.

"Uhh... my boyfriend. Sort of... well..."

"What? The one you broke up with the other day?" '_Damn his bloody good memory.'_ I thought.

"No.. I didn't actually break up with him. I'd just started going out with him... I mean... yeah."

Unfortunately, Anne had heard the whole thing.

"So you _lied_?" She exclaimed. This was not the time.

My so-called boyfriend had lied to me the whole time. I'd actually done something that, to me, was quite outrageous and slept with him on the very first... well, it wasn't even a date. I'd trusted him, told him things about me and it had been the most open I had ever been. It had been less than a week for God's sake.

"Let me go... I'll... pretend I'm visiting him as a surprise or something..." I looked up at Kurt. "You can... yeah. It'll be easier than bursting in there. He'll probably run out or something." I started babbling, not knowing what the hell to do or how to react.

"We can't... you're..." Kurt began.

"Yes, a computer, techy person thing... But he's my boyfriend.. he trusts me, for the most part. I mean... yeah." I seriously didn't understand what was going on around me.

Had he been tapping me for information then? We never talked about work that much... maybe I was his 'way in' or something... Or... he was finding out our movements through me.

Either way, he hadn't actually noticed me in that cafe. He never actually found me attractive or anything... he just asked me out for the sake of getting information. Well, that does it.. I'm most definitely going to die, fat and alone and they'll find me three weeks later with... hang on.. no... that's Bridget Jones... _Shut up, brain!_

I was overreacting, overthinking and overjudging.

"Look, maybe.. maybe E. should go in first, talk to him and then... we'll come charging in, guns blazing, sort of thing." Magnus tried to reason with Kurt. All he got was a stop-thinking-you're-in-CSI-look.

"We can't let someone who's never been trained, never had any experience with this sort of thing..." Magnus was about to jump in at that point. "No, Magnus. What if he takes her hostage?" Kurt raised his eyebrows, waiting for Magnus to answer. He didn't. "Exactly, then we're stuck, aren't we."

Kurt smashed his finger down on the print button and stormed off to collect the paper. We were all left standing there, gobsmacked.

Magnus awkwardly placed his hand on my shoulder and patted it, not quite knowing what to do.

Springing into action, I jumped up and grabbed my phone from where I had left it on the desk. Magnus, Anne and Lisa looked at me in disbelief.

"You're not _seriously_ thinking of doing this, are you Em?" Magnus took a step back.

"I have to." I replied, stubbornly. I felt like following on with 'for the good of the country', but didn't. "There is no way that Kurt is going to see my side of this, and if he won't see it... we'll just have to make him."

Magnus ran a shaky hand through his blonde curls. I guessed that he'd never disobeyed Kurt before. I hadn't either and I wasn't exactly looking forward to it, but I knew that we had to do it to nail Shimmin.

"I know you don't want to lose your jobs..." It was the first thing that had crossed my mind too: what would happen if it went wrong? I'd lose my job and, as a result, my flat. "But, if this goes well, we'll have nailed Shimmin..." I inhaled loudly, ready to ask the biggest favour I would ever ask. "And, if you help me, it'll go all the more smoothly..."

Anne was the first to protest.

"No... no way. I am _not_ prepared to lose my job over some hair-brained computer whizz that wants to prove themselves. I worked hard for this..." Anne shook her head repeatedly. "I am not going to give it up now. No _way_."

Magnus frowned and looked over at Lisa.

"I can get a few officers to bring up the rear once you're in." Lisa said. "You'll have to wear a wire so that we can hear what's going on. Talk to him, keep him occupied, do anything you have to. I'll give the word and we'll go in..." She paused, looking for the right words. Grinning and looking over at Magnus, she continued. "...guns blazing."

I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Lisa, you're an absolute _angel_." I hugged her enthusiatically. "If you could sort that, it would be wonderful."

Anne shook her head and tutted.

"I'm going... now. Before I get involved." And with that, she turned and stropped out of the door. I hoped to _God_ that she wasn't off to tell Kurt.

Lisa nodded and went off to call in the few officers she could to help. After she'd left, I looked at Magnus. He looked worried, really worried. And green. I half expected him to throw up. Thankfully, he didn't. He just shuffled his feet about and stared at the floor.

"W-well.. I-" He stopped and ran his hand through his hair again. "I don't know what to say..."

"You don't _have_ to help..." I was being truthful. With the officers Lisa was bringing in, it should be enough to get Shimmin or _Peter_. "We'll have enough... I mean..."

"No..." He stopped me from going any further. "I'll help. I uhh... yeah." He smiled and turned to follow Lisa. I started towards the door, but he came back again. "If I lose my job, I... I don't blame you." He smiled and went back after Lisa.

Well, Anne could do what she liked. I'd got enough people.

So, I was about to go and 'keep _Peter_ occupied' until Magnus turned up with the cavalry. Great.

I arrived at Peter's flat in no time at all. He was in, because his car was parked just outside the block. I sighed, gathering up my courage and knocked sharply on the door. There was a bit of moving around and shuffling coming from inside the apartment, but eventually I heard him pull the latch down and open the door.

"Oh God, Em." Peter grinned at me. I found it hard to keep my girlfriend persona up, knowing what he had done.

"Hi... I wanted to err... surprise you." I smiled and he waved his hand, gesturing me to come in. I wandered into his flat, looking around, acting curious. I'd never been there without being drunk. And it looked completely different. He smiled at me again.

"Impressed?" He laughed. Obviously, he remembered too. Great.

"Yeah..." I pulled my coat off. "It's great." Peter took my coat.

"So... what brings you here, then?" He hung my coat up for me on one of the hangers by the door. I smiled and moved closer to him.

"Well... I just couldn't bear to be away from you for much longer." I made an attempt at alluring, but I think it might have come out a bit more like awkward. He tilted his head, checking to see if I was being truthful.

Gathering all my inner-strength, I strolled about the flat.

"This the bedroom?" I pointed to a massive room with big windows and a massive white bed. Aah... the marshmallow duvet... my nemesis. He nodded and followed me in.

To his, and my own, surprise, I pushed him onto the bed. He lay there for a minute, not quite knowing what to do. I suppose it all became clear once I kissed him.

He parted his lips, letting my tongue search his mouth. He ran his own tongue across the roof of my mouth, making me shiver. I deepened the kiss, tilting my head to get a better angle but I ended up squashing our noses together. Peter seemed not to mind as he moved his hands to my waist. I moved my hands to around his neck and straddled hiim.

As he moved his hands down to my thighs, I let out a sigh of pleasure. It was genuine, but it was partly to keep him more 'occupied'. He responded by moving his hands to the hem of my work-skirt, slowly, but deftly, curling his fingers around it and pulling it up further.

Our tongues continued to explore each others mouths as Peter moved my skirt. I swiftly shifted my hands to his shirt buttons and managed to undo them with some skill. He obediently altered the position of his arms so that I could slide his shirt off his chest.

I broke the kiss and looked into his eyes. Grinning micheviously, I transferred my hands to his belt buckle, and began undo-ing it.

A soft creak came from his apartment door. I knew that Magnus was here with the 'cavalry'. Well, it hadn't taken them too long, thank God. Peter, thankfully, heard nothing. I then un-did his trousers, unbuttoning them so slowly, it was almost painful. He was breathing heavily, staring into my eyes, watching me.

The bedroom door banged open and Magnus appeared, followed by about six other men, brandishing guns. I leapt up off Peter and pulled my skirt down, making myself more decent. He just sat there on the bed, looking bewildered.

"Warren Shimmin, you are under arrest..." I didn't hear the rest of what Magnus said. I stood there, watching Peter. In all honesty, I thought he looked a bit hurt. Maybe they were wrong about him? Maybe they _had_ got the phone number wrong. But no. Kurt would have been too thorough. I knew that this was the best thing to do, but he had been my 'experiment', if you like. I had slept with him in a spurr of the moment type thing, and look where that got me.

A couple of the other men dragged Peter out, in handcuffs and took him to the car that was waiting below. Magnus put his arm round me.

"Shall I drive you home?" He had put his gun back in its holster now. The whole thing was over, just like that.

"No, I need to explain to Kurt." Magnus nodded and helped me out of the apartment, down the stairs and into the car.


End file.
